5 Reasons Why You Should Start Charting Your Fertility
Charting your fertility every day might seem like a lot of work, but trust us when we say it’s worth it. Fertility charting helps you familiarize yourself with your body, its monthly patterns, and identify when you’re most fertile. Whether or not you’re trying to conceive, fertility charting is something every woman can do. It’s easy and you can start whenever! Here are 5 reasons why we think you should start charting your fertility.
#1: Body literacy.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again…every BODY is different! No two women are going to have the exact same cycle or fertility journey. If you want to be in touch with your own personal cycle stats, fertility charting is the only way to go. Fertility charting will make you aware of when you’re ovulating, what cervical mucus looks like at all stages of your cycle, and the conditions of your body in its normal, healthy state. If you get familiar with your body, cycle, and habits now, you’ll be able to recognize when something’s changed— like a fertility issue, an STI, yeast infection, and even pregnancy.
#2: It’s catered to YOU.
Fertility charting is specifically tailored to you and can be a mentally fulfilling activity. Contraceptive methods like the Pill and IUD have pre-determined hormone amounts. These hormones aren’t specific to your needs, and might only be changed after you have issues. Fertility charting doesn’t involve any hormones or changes to your body. It’s just keeping track of your BBT and cervical mucus. That’s it.
#3: You’ll have a pretty good idea of when your period will occur every month.
Knowing when you’re ovulating is amazing, especially if you’re TTC or trying to simply use your Fertility Awareness as a contraceptive. So, are there any benefits to fertility charting other than just knowing your fertile window? The answer is YES!! Fertility charting paints a picture of your entire cycle…i.e. you’ll know when you’re getting your period every month. If that’s not enough to convince you IDK what will.
#4: You’ll know sooner if something’s off with your fertility.
By starting now, you’ll know the normal state of your body. If your cycle suddenly fluctuates and deviates from its usual pattern, you can take your charts to your doctor and see what’s going on. Inconsistencies in your cycle could be indicators of infertility or PCOS. Creating and collecting charts can seriously help you determine the possibility of a medical issue. Often times, the more data doctors have, the better they can diagnose what’s going on with you.
#5: Regain some of your fertility confidence, plus visit your doctor (and the web) with some fire power
When your fertility clock is ticking, anxiety can step in and, in some cases, take over. Every possible question you have has been googled: you feel like you can re-write the sequel to the vagina monologues at this point. Yet, the healthy skeptic in you may still be unsure that the internet adequately assessed your questions (and you should be). That’s where charting your cycle can step in to provide some very valuable confidence in this period of vulnerability. Instead of going to the doctor empty handed, or even googling your unexplained infertility without any knowledge of your own cycle, you’ll be able to ask more specific questions and consequently nail down causes much faster. Instead of asking “why can’t I get pregnant” your question could turn into something like “what are the causes of a short luteal phase” or “why is my follicular phase longer than 14 days?” Both of which will yield answers specific to your situation, rather than filling your head with all the what-ifs and lists of risk factors that only cause more stress.
Independent of all these benefits…what do you have to lose by charting!? Fertility charting is simple, especially if you have an iFertracker to take your temperature for you! All it takes is a few minutes a day to record, write down your temperature, and track cervical mucus. Mobile apps such as the iFertracker make it easier than ever to chart your fertility and get a day-by-day update all about you.
So, what are you waiting for?!
Resources
http://fertilityfriday.com/10-unexpected-benefits-of-fertility-awareness-charting/
https://naturalwomanhood.org/five-reasons-teen-girls-should-learn-to-chart/